Would you cancel due to Coronavirus?

[Heytoots]

I have a cruise out of NYC on the NCL GEM tomorrow, seriously considering not going.  

[GA Dave]

Latest summary article.

MSN article

[Laurin612]

On 2/29/2020 at 1:13 PM, Stealthdog said:

Yes - I’ve already cancelled my June Med cruise.  Not because I am concerned with getting sick, but I don’t want to be stuck in a situation where I get stuck in a quarantine, have restricted travel that will make me fight with insurance companies to get reimbursed hotel, flight, or other fees, or any other inconvenience that will change my plans.  I’m just going to stick with land locations in the US until there is a vaccine.

 

We are strongly considering cancelling (or rescheduling until next summer) our June Med cruise for the same reasons. Since we are leaving out of Rome and with several stops in Italy, it is a big concern.  

 

My husband and I have already been told by our respective employers that we will have to self quarantine for 14 days following our return.  That's fine for me--I am able to work from home.  With the type of work my husband does, he cannot work from home and we don't want to risk 2-3 weeks of unpaid leave while he waits out the self-quarantine at home.  So, we may cancel due to "Work Reasons."  

[Joshgrobanfan]

Since I am in many of the high risk categories (over 65, diabetes, high blood pressure, history of seizures, high cholesterol, heart murmur) the concerns I have are many.  How much medication should I bring in case the ship is quarantined? My high risk factors make me statistically more likely to be seriously affected if I catch any virus not just COVID-19. Before this current coronavirus outbreak, I never worried about that. If I got sick, they would just send me home. Or I would be quarantined in the cruise medical department.  Now you could be quarantined  for an indefinite period of time. Your itinerary can be changed without notice. Just saw this happen on the cruise I had hoped to go on in a few weeks. I am an avid cruiser with 35 cruises. My doctor has advised me not to travel. I have travel insurance so the money is not a concern for me. And yet a part of me says what the heck and just keep on living. 

[babydaryl24]

Someone on Twitter just said their Priceline support agent called them back this morning to say, "Dont cancel yet. Changes are coming, even for existing reservations.."

 

So we shall see.

Edited March 5, 2020 by babydaryl24

[spanishguy1970]

2 hours ago, blcruising said:

That's kind of where I am with it. Last week I was all in, that is starting to change each day. I really want to go, but logic is saying don't.....as is the rest of my family and just about everyone else I know. I have the 75% CFAR so I suppose I just wait it out and make a final decision three days before sailing. Concerned about getting back into US, healthcare overseas, being exposed from someone else that has it, NCL rerouting itineraries and making changes at the very last minute, scrambling to reshuffle flights, family worrying, etc...too much up in the air and unnecessary hassle.

same here, we leave April 19 on the Bliss for 21 days ending in Seattle so we are now getting a little nervous. We have more than a month to go and we will make a decision accordingly. I think the idea of a relaxing cruise loses it appeal if you hear coughing all over the place inside a ship, maybe NCL will cancel it if the spread gets worse either way we are keeping an eye on the issue.

Edited March 5, 2020 by spanishguy1970

[Booboochase]

20 minutes ago, GA Dave said:

Latest summary article.

MSN article

Wow.  This just proves that no matter how much the cruise lines try to screen people boarding, it's just not feasible. 

[jennmaybe]

6 minutes ago, Laurin612 said:

 

We are strongly considering cancelling (or rescheduling until next summer) our June Med cruise for the same reasons. Since we are leaving out of Rome and with several stops in Italy, it is a big concern.  

 

My husband and I have already been told by our respective employers that we will have to self quarantine for 14 days following our return.  That's fine for me--I am able to work from home.  With the type of work my husband does, he cannot work from home and we don't want to risk 2-3 weeks of unpaid leave while he waits out the self-quarantine at home.  So, we may cancel due to "Work Reasons."  
 

 

Same here...We received an email earlier this week from our legal team that if we leave the country for any reason, we are required to work from home for two weeks after our return.  We already get to work from home 50% of the time, but this will be 2 straight weeks. Looks like I’ll be working from home for 2 weeks next month after our cruise.

 

 

[disneylover89]

5 minutes ago, babydaryl24 said:

Someone on Twitter just said their Priceline support agent called them back this morning to say, "Dont cancel yet. Changes are coming, even for existing reservations.."

 

So we shall see.

Probably Final Payment dates.  They already changed it from 120 days to 90 days for July cruises

[maplevale]

6 minutes ago, babydaryl24 said:

Someone on Twitter just said their Priceline support agent called them back this morning to say, "Dont cancel yet. Changes are coming, even for existing reservations.."

 

So we shall see.

 

 

Leave on Saturday.... hope changes come quickly!!!

[spanishguy1970]

3 minutes ago, disneylover89 said:

Probably Final Payment dates.  They already changed it from 120 days to 90 days for July cruises

our agent told us something similar, ours is Panama Canal cruise out of New York going to Seattle. Is on April 19 we already booked our airline so if they make the changes i hope is soon, everything is already, paid and planned.

[CroozFanatic]

When this first started and they were building hospitals in Wuhan...I was astonished.  Didn't make sense to me. Watched a YouTube video a few days later explaining that the first patients with COVID19 infected everyone else in the hospitals including the medical professionals. The new hospitals were for COVID19 only.

 

Seems like cruise ships would make decent COVID19 hospitals??

 

 

[NoobCroozer]

12 minutes ago, babydaryl24 said:

Someone on Twitter just said their Priceline support agent called them back this morning to say, "Dont cancel yet. Changes are coming, even for existing reservations.."

 

So we shall see.

Thanks!

[farkell]

We are scheduled to go to the Bahamas 4/12/20.  We are not cancelling.  We have NCL standard insurance.  If things get very bad, hopefully NCL will cancel the cruise.  

[Liljo22]

43 minutes ago, Booboochase said:

Wow.  This just proves that no matter how much the cruise lines try to screen people boarding, it's just not feasible. 

I wouldn't say not feasible but its possible that someone has the virus but does not show any symptoms at the time of boarding.  The screen still eliminates high risk of infection passengers.  

[Summerstravel]

28 minutes ago, farkell said:

We are scheduled to go to the Bahamas 4/12/20.  We are not cancelling.  We have NCL standard insurance.  If things get very bad, hopefully NCL will cancel the cruise.  

 

I purchased the platinum insurance from NCL for my cruise on April 11,2020 out of NYC to Bermuda. Does anyone by chance have a phone number for the NCL insurance ? 

 

Thank You

[Regguy]

Fortunately I don’t have any cruises planned but if I did I can’t imagine making final payment right now.

 

The question right now for NCL is an existential one.  Those who pay attention to cruise financials will have the best sense but there is a tipping point at which the ancillary revenues for NCL require the ships to sail with a certain capacity to make it more expensive to sail than to not sail, even if not sailing involves refunds of non refundable amounts.  I don’t know if it is 80 percent full or 30 percent full but it is probably a higher number than we think given the margins in the industry.  
 

They are forced into a dangerous game of chicken right now with respect to their non refundable deposits and it is going to get ugly fast.  Once they have to start asking “have you been to Seattle” instead of “have you been to Wuhan” it is game over.  And given the high margins on the upcoming summer season from the Pacific Northwest, it is really not hard to understand the price the market is putting on the company.  These boards no doubt skew perception of what the average consumer is thinking right now because we all love cruising enough to make accounts and post here.  Take into account that cruise passengers in general — not as much on NCL but other lines — skew older and you have a real cruise industry crisis brewing.  

 

 

[farkell]

Summerstravel--This is on the NCL standard insurance: 

If you need to cancel your trip, please contact both Norwegian Cruise Line and Aon Affinity at www.aontravelclaim.com (or call 1-800-722-5672) to initiate a claim

Edited March 5, 2020 by farkell
misspelling

[babydaryl24]

17 minutes ago, Regguy said:

Fortunately I don’t have any cruises planned but if I did I can’t imagine making final payment right now.

 

The question right now for NCL is an existential one.  Those who pay attention to cruise financials will have the best sense but there is a tipping point at which the ancillary revenues for NCL require the ships to sail with a certain capacity to make it more expensive to sail than to not sail, even if not sailing involves refunds of non refundable amounts.  I don’t know if it is 80 percent full or 30 percent full but it is probably a higher number than we think given the margins in the industry.  
 

They are forced into a dangerous game of chicken right now with respect to their non refundable deposits and it is going to get ugly fast.  Once they have to start asking “have you been to Seattle” instead of “have you been to Wuhan” it is game over.  And given the high margins on the upcoming summer season from the Pacific Northwest, it is really not hard to understand the price the market is putting on the company.  These boards no doubt skew perception of what the average consumer is thinking right now because we all love cruising enough to make accounts and post here.  Take into account that cruise passengers in general — not as much on NCL but other lines — skew older and you have a real cruise industry crisis brewing.  

 

 

This is the best explanation  I've read anywhere. 

[Joshgrobanfan]

If you need to cancel your trip, please contact both Norwegian Cruise Line and Aon Affinity at www.aontravelclaim.com (or call 1-800-722-5672) to initiate a claim

[Laszlo]

1 hour ago, CroozFanatic said:

When this first started and they were building hospitals in Wuhan...I was astonished.  Didn't make sense to me. Watched a YouTube video a few days later explaining that the first patients with COVID19 infected everyone else in the hospitals including the medical professionals. The new hospitals were for COVID19 only.

 

Seems like cruise ships would make decent COVID19 hospitals??

 

 

I wouldn't want to be the guinea pig taking a cruise after a ship was used as a floating hospital for COVID19

[Trimone]

We have just returned from a 16 day cruise on the Joy with no problems, as yet, no screening to enter back into the US or the U.K. 

Over the next few weeks we will be watching all cruise lines, to see how they handle this situation, how they act will influence our next cruise company we use.

Europe this season looks very dubious, but things can go both ways, if I had a final payment to make for Europe, I would postpone the cruise, but would monitor the cruise prices (it will go cheaper) and jump back in, if things look like improving, I’m in the U.K. so flights to Barcelona and cheap and instant, so last minute late booking is easy.

[Trimone]

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the world's largest cruise industry trade association including members such as Royal Caribbean, Carnival Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Line and Disney Cruise Line, today issued the latest update saying that its members have expanded restrictions on Coronavirus preventive measures. The statement says that CLIA members will deny boarding on their vessels of anyone who has traveled in the affected regions in northern Italy

[luv2kroooz]

1 hour ago, Regguy said:

They are forced into a dangerous game of chicken right now with respect to their non refundable deposits and it is going to get ugly fast.

This is actually very interesting, and I was thinking about that earlier. As it relates to passengers with CFAR insurance, NCL actually could end up risking more by not doing anything. If you have CFAR, you most likely can cancel at the last minute....I lose 25% of a really cheap base fare, but NCL loses the ability to resell the cabin, the daily service charge, the free at sea surcharges, and any onboard revenue that might have been spent by the passenger on a 2 week sailing.

 

Now, I am not blaming at NCL at this point. The only real solution I see is to cancel the cruise and/or give passengers a future cruise credit or do nothing and press on. To start reshuffling ports at this point is futile...who knows what is going to happen in a week, two weeks with this virus.

[Texascruzer129]

Does anyone know what Celebrity is doing about issuing credits?/refunds?? we are scheduled to leave Puerto Rico in two days, March 7, and I  just don't want to get stuck on a ship for two weeks if quarantined OR just cruise around the Caribbean for a week.